Cycling, activism, and other topics by Jim Provenzano, author of PINS, Monkey Suits, Cyclizen and Every Time I Think of You

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Expensively Stupid

Bicycles get stolen pretty much every minute of every day. It's a given. Fortunately, I've had good luck in San Francisco (knock on wood), mostly because my bikes are old and beat up. Also, I never leave a bike parked in a dodgy area, or for a long period of time.

New York City was a different case. I visited an editor's office on Lower Broadway for half an hour. Despite his invitation to bring it inside, I didn't, and returned to see the skeletal frame of my bike still locked to a sign post. Both wheels and seat were stolen.

A common occurrence; but when a celebrity gets his bike stolen, suddenly, it's news! Top that with it being a $2300 bike owned by a TV news reporter, and have the theft caught on camera, and it's definitely "news."

I'm sorry, but anyone foolish enough to leave such an expensive bike outside doesn't get much sympathy from me.